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Golf Tips circa B.C. XXIII

“Carpe Diem”, a phrase from a poem in Odes, was written by Horace in 23 BC. I’m pretty sure Horace wasn’t grinding out a par on the 18th when he came up with this maxim. However, it’s just as applicable to our golf games today as it was to life in general over 2000 years ago. Carpe diem roughly translates to “seize the day”. Good advice for all walks of life and in all facets of life. What isn’t often quoted is the passage that follows:

“Quam minimum credula postero”

As golfers, this verse has MUCH more applicability than its often quoted predecessor. This passage roughly translates to: “put little trust in the future”. If our old pal Horace was golfing, he’d ask us to stop thinking about the outcome and focus on the process. Control what you can right now. Think not about what happens if it goes in, or if it rolls 2 feet past. Just think about making the putt. That’s all you can do.

Golf sports psychologists such as Jospeh Parent and Bob Rotella have written many books on the importance of being “in the now” or “finding the zone”. Players performing in that realm find themselves not casting thought to the future or past. They’re in the present, handling what’s presented to them at this very moment. Outcomes are inconsequential when the factors leading to them are still in motion.

Yes, seize the day but make sure your memory is short and your focus, laser-like.